Paris, days one and two

My flight to Paris arrived on time yesterday at 11:00 a.m., so I had half the day for touring. Our study abroad group took a trip on the Metro and walked to les Jardins du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens). The gardens were huge, some English-style (more trees and round flower beds--supposedly more "natural") and some French-style (more square layout). Parisians spend the afternoon there reading, playing with their kids and relaxing. We even saw a wedding. A smaller group of us ate dinner at a café along a side street in the Latin Quarter close to Notre Dame. France is not as expensive as I had thought it would be--15 Euros bought me a glass of wine, appetizer, entree and dessert. And here, you don't have to pay tax or tip on top of the price listed on the menu. Which makes eating in groups much easier when it comes time to pay l'addition, and the waiters only try to sucker you into leaving tip because they know you're American.

Oh, and about being American and the rumored rudeness of the French:

NOT TRUE!!! Everyone has been incredibly nice in Paris thus far. As soon as you start talking (in English or French), they know you're American, so they start speaking to you in English. Most of the time I have replied in French anyway, and I always make the initial effort to ask my questions and say my greetings in French, but communication has not been a problem. Maybe just trying to speak French makes the difference between being served or snubbed. So far, my 8-9 years of French has gotten me by pretty well, but I have had to ask a few people to repeat themselves more slowly. Details and long speeches are hard to understand.

And a street rule: you don't smile at strangers here. If you do, you're asking for flirting and pestering. Thankfully, I don't smile unless I have a reason to, anyway. Which means no whistles or relentless French men so far.

Today our group started the tour at 9:00 a.m. and took the Metro around l'Ile de la Cité, the area around la Seine river and central Paris. Took too many pictures of buildings, some of which I probably can't even identify now, but overall, the architecture and layout of Paris is just gorgeous. So old and so elaborate. Among the things on this 8-hour walk were:

Saint-Chappelle, a cathedral with beautiful stained glass
Nôtre Dame

Pont Neuf ("New Bridge"--actually the oldest bridge in Paris)
Palais de la Justice, the prison where Marie Antoinette was held before her execution
L'Opéra, the most bling-bling opera house I have ever seen, which inspired The Phantom of the Opera
La Rive Droite (Right Bank), where you can find shops selling $10,000 watches, Coco Chanel's original apartment, and the Ritz hotel

The Champs Elysées and Arc du Triomphe, the latter which we climbed to the top via the LONG spiral staircase to see a 360 degree view of Paris

I'm going to see if I can start a Photobucket account for uploading some pictures; apparently this website sucks at that.